Virbac Receives FDA Approval of Anthelmintic for Cattle; Company Enters $284 Million Cattle Market.

Business Editors

FORT WORTH, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 4, 2001

Virbac Corporation (NASDAQ NM: VBAC), a leading companion animal health company, announced today that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Virbac's new anthelmintic (dewormer) for cattle.

The product, released commercially under two trade names, VIRBAMEC(TM) Pour-On and BOVIMEC(TM) Pour-On, is topically applied and contains the active ingredient ivermectin to treat and control internal and external parasites in cattle.

Virbac enters the $284 million cattle anthelmintic market with the distribution and marketing of this product through established distribution channels. The product will be manufactured at Virbac's FDA-approved manufacturing facility near St. Louis, Mo.

Once the product is fully launched in the market, Virbac expects to capture a minimum of 5% market share within the next three years while generating incremental operating profit ranging from $3.5 to $4 million annually. The registration and launch of this product demonstrates Virbac's ability to execute its strategy of registering highly-regulated, profitable new products to achieve its stated goal of reaching sales of $100 million and operating profit of $20 million by 2004.

"This latest product registration is another example of how our company is achieving benefits from our R&D agreement with our parent, Virbac S.A.," said Thomas L. Bell, Virbac president and chief executive officer. "We achieved significant time and cost savings in registering this product in the United States because Virbac S.A. had already developed and gained regulatory approval for this product in many countries worldwide."

VIRBAMEC Pour-On and BOVIMEC Pour-On treat and control gastrointestinal roundworms, including inhibited Ostertagia ostertagi, or brown stomach worm, which infects an estimated 85% of U.S. beef cattle and is the most common internal parasite of cattle. The products also treat and control lungworms, grubs, horn flies, sucking and biting lice, and sarcoptic mange mites. Veterinarians, producers and economists estimate parasite-related disease results in severe economic loss to the livestock industry annually.

"The registration of this product is a tremendous accomplishment for our company in a year in which we have received FDA-approval for several other important products, including IVERHART(TM) PLUS and Worm-X," Bell said. "The combined market value of these new segments Virbac is entering with FDA-approved products is more than $600 million and represents an enormous opportunity for our company's growth."

Virbac Corporation, located in Fort Worth, Texas, is a leading companion animal health company with product leaders in the nutraceutical, dermatological and oral hygiene markets for pets and companion animals. Virbac provides a broad array of healthcare products to its customers under the C.E.T.(R), Allerderm(R), IVERHART(TM) PLUS, Preventic(R), Pet-Tabs(R), St. JON(R), Mardel(R), Zema(R) and Francodex(R) brand names. Virbac Corporation is a majority-owned subsidiary of the $300 million revenue French public animal health company, Virbac S.A. For more information on Virbac, please visit www.virbac.com.

This press release contains forward-looking information made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements may be affected by certain risks and uncertainties described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements regarding revenue depend in large part on the company's ability to launch new products effectively and customer acceptance of those products. The Company's actual results could differ materially from such forward-looking statements. Management believes that these amounts are fairly stated, but audited results could differ from these unaudited results and the effect may be material. In addition, anticipated 2001 results depend upon sales and margin targets being met.